Begrüßungsgeld

This situation originated with the policy of the GDR government restricting the amount of East German Marks (M) that could be exchanged into Deutsche Marks (DM) by GDR citizens when on approved travel to the West.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989, tens of thousands of East Germans queued in front of banks and town halls in West Germany to collect their "welcome money" for the first time.

[3] The payment of "welcome money" ended on 29 December 1989, as it was never intended to be paid out to such large numbers of visitors.

[citation needed] This arrangement ended when the GDR adopted the West German currency on 1 July 1990.

From October 1980 onwards, the GDR required a minimum exchange of 25 DM daily.